A Heart to Hold You
by pfeffi
Summary: A relationship told in twenty sentences. — AlecJustinia.


**author's note**: I loved this manga, and when I saw these prompts on livejournal, they just shouted Alec/Justinia. So, here we have twenty sentences, focusing on those two characters, with mentions of Fradd and Nana as well. I hope I managed to capture them nicely. Enjoy!

**disclaimer**: Adarshan no Hanayome does not belong to me, it belongs to its respective owner. 

* * *

><p><strong>a heart to hold you<strong>

_(a relationship told in twenty sentences)_

— 

#1: **HERO**. It was always around him that she fell (sometimes literally) into the category of damsel in distress, and he had to play her knight in somewhat shining armor. 

#2: **VILLAIN**. Only when Nana was mentioned did Justinia look at Alec and see someone different; old sorrows became new again and she wondered whether she could ever believe him to be anything other than an enemy. 

#3: **BELONG**. "This may not be your home," he said, kneeling down to her level, trying to catch her fleeting eyes, "but so long as you and I are wed, there will always be a place for you here." 

#4: **MEANING**. She didn't always understand the hidden context beneath his words, and sometimes even Fradd's words too, but Justinia was off the firm belief that one day, she would. 

#5: **COERCION**. "I could tell her of all you've done—" the man's words were interrupted as Alec furiously responded; "If you say one word to her, I will have you stripped of _all_your power and titles." 

#6: **DEFINITION**. "I don't understand," she said, puzzled, and asked Fradd to explain what the word meant; the advisor merely chortled and directed her to Alec, and when she repeated the question with a huff, sunset rose in the prince's cheeks. 

#7: **FOREVER**. "Marriage," Justinia explained very matter-of-factly, "is forever—so I hope you realize that you and I will be here, together, until death do us part." 

#8: **RUIN**. There were mornings when Alec could only stare at himself in the broken mirror and ask, helplessly, what he had done to deserve all the hatred that set out to destroy him, bit by bit. 

#9: **BOUNDARIES**. Everyone had their limits, but Alexid wouldn't allow his to defeat him; he would push and attack at them until his boundaries succumbed to his efforts and stretched, if only a little bit. 

#10: **RISK**. If it meant saving her, he would take his chances. 

#11: **COURAGE**. "When you face the mightiest of enemies, little princess," Nana would say, "bring courage with you to the battlefield and remember that doubt has no place in a lion's heart." 

#12: **SECRET**. Sometimes there are things that just cannot be shared with others, and it was an act of good faith that the princess told him her nickname, Euti. 

#13: **TEMPTATION**. He despised, utterly loathed himself whenever he looked at his pretty young wife in ways other than friendship would entail—despite that she was now much older than when they had first met. 

#14: **THRILL**. "In battle," he said gravely to his subjects, "there is no thrill in fighting, nor in slaying another—only the will to survive and the desire to assist your country and your fellow man." 

#15: **SALVATION**. Nightmares plagued Prince Alexid, feasting on what remnants of good dreams and memories he had; it wasn't until his Euti joined him in bed that he was finally able to rest easy. 

#16: **DEPENDENCE**. It was funny how he, the older of the two, relief on her much more than she relied on him. 

#17: **REJECTION**. "No, Euti," he said firmly, not looking up from his paperwork, "if you want to make snow dolls, you'll have to ask Fradd—I haven't the time." 

#18: **CHOICES**. There were little decisions and there were big decisions, and though he knew that sometimes it wasn't the best decision, given the choice, he would choose her over everything else. 

#19: **REDEMPTION**. Every time she looked at him with no fear in her eyes, a smile on her face, or warmth in her heart, he felt that he was one step closer to truly earning her forgiveness, and redeeming himself. 

#20: **PROMISE**. With roses in her cheeks, Justinia shyly laced their fingers together underneath the covers and curled up closer to Alexid, who held onto her protectively as she whispered; "No matter what happens, I promise I'll stay by your side." 

_fin_.


End file.
